More than half of the region’s SMEs are risking significant fines by failing to comply with rules governing business waste, an Elland-based facilities management firm has warned.

Justin Holley of Orchard Facilities Management said recent figures showed that around 56% of companies were regularly breaching waste legislation, which those employing less than 250 staff the most common offenders.

“Waste compliance is not only highly regulated, it’s also very complex with different rules applying to various types of waste and businesses,” explained Mr Holley.

“The problem for many small and medium sized companies is that they may not be fully aware of their obligations and don’t have the expertise or resources in house to manage waste compliance.”

“Fines can run into many thousands of pounds and it can be very hard for a small business to recover from something like that,” he explained.

“One of the things that often surprises businesses when we start working with them is that by having a robust waste and recycling strategy in place they can actually reduce their costs and improve operational efficiency as well as avoiding legal action from non compliance.”